Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Have It All are a five piece band with members from Germany and Italy. Rooted in the melodic side of things, the band plays hardcore influenced by post rock, screamo and math rock, while keeping the agression and energy of a standard hardcore band. There are plenty of interesting twists and turns musically, as well as usual genre staples such as breakdowns and gang vocals. For A DIY recording it sounds absolutely phenomenal, and if I hadn't of known otherwise, I could've sworn that the band had this produced professionally. Basically if you like your hardcore with an emotional edge (not too emotional mind you), and with some interesting riffs and musical direction thrown in for good measure, I recommend giving Have It All a listen.

WeAreAllSlaves is a harsh noise project from Belgrade, Serbia that is churning out some really, really unsettling noise. 'You Must Be In Some Complications' puts out a really strong Japanoise vibe, but with some nods to early Industrial experimentation, dark ambient and Whitehouse style power electronics with a unique spin on the whole thing (special nods to the entirely vocal driven track 'Slyvia Livens'). It's a good sign if a harsh noise release makes you squirm uncomfortable, and 'You Must Be Stuck In Some Complications' did just that. Check it below (and other releases) at WeAreAllSlave's bandcamp.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Fucked Up And Boring
2. My Trip To The Ritual
3. Back In Pearl Harbor
4. If Feminazis Started A War
5. You Could've Warned Yourself
6. Sylvia Likens

Psychic Limb are at again, unleashing another 12 untitled tracks of grindy chaos upon our ears. The New York band plays a very concise, very mean strain of hardcore that encapsulates early 2000s/late 1990s metalcore, grindcore and noisy punk. Every snare hit, string bend and throat shred is clearly audible thanks to some pristine production (fear not, the high fidelity does not detract anything from the album at all). Psychic Limb are up there with Full Of Hell and Dead In The Dirt, in terms of their genre-fluid output and brutal sonic assault. Do not sleep on this one.

Chances are you've probably heard of Prurient if you fancy yourself as a noise fan. Dom Fernow's power electronics project has been going for over a decade now, releasing everything from noisecore to dark wave to 15 minute tracks of pure feedback. On Cocaine Death, Fernow utilizes horribly distorted synthesizers with his trademark amplifier/microphone to create walls of sound that recall both his earlier works and synthwave. The vocals are more dominant in the mix (though still heavily processed with effects) which combined with the whirling vortex of synth and noise in the background make for a formidable slab of noise. Cocaine Death isn't Prurient's most harsh release (check out Black Vase or Troubled Sleep) but it's just as menacing and foreboding as anything in his catalogue.

Rupture were a classic powerviolence band hailing from Perth, Australia. Rupture kicked out the jams for 19 years until the death of their vocalist Gus Chambers, and in that time they managed to release countless records (including splits with Spazz, Cripple Bastards and a spot on the Son Of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! compilation). Musically Rupture play grinding hardcore, driven by gruff vocals, blastbeats and a devilish (and very ocker) sense of humour. This is some criminally underrated powerviolence from its golden era, so put down that Extortion record and give these cunts a listen.

This album is an absolute bona fide classic, and I will fucking fight you if you say otherwise. This here is some menancing, weird-ass and complete alienating noise rock that sounds like it could've come from the bowels of hell. Packed full of weird samples, Steve Austin's demonic voice and punchy guitars. This is album that's torn between metal, noise rock and full on experimentation - and despite how that sounds, it plays out exceptionally well (though you'll have a heckuva time keeping up with the jarring changes of pace). At the expense of sounding cliched, I will call this an acquired taste - it will take a few listens to full appreciate - but when it clicks it's totally worth it.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Temple of the Morning Star
2. The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself
3. Blindspot
4. High as the Sky
5. Miracle
6. Kill Yourself
7. Mankind
8. Pinnacle
9. Crutch
10. Root of All Evil
11. Satan Is Alive
12. Rabid Lassie
13. Friend for Life
14. My Life with You
15. I See You
16. Hermaphrodite
17. Temple of the Morning Star / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Monday, 20 January 2014

Delivering weirdo hardcore in only the way a SST hardcore band could, Tar Babies were a criminally underrated band that were around between 1982 - 1991. In their time on the Earth, Tar Babies played funk infused hardcore that delved into occasionally jazzy and noisy territory, but remained thoroughly punk oriented. This is a compilation including their 1982 'Face The Music' EP and their second EP, 1985's 'Respect Your Nightmares'. While the latter is more indicative of the band's hardcore sound, 'Respect Your Nightmares' sees more of the funk/jazz influence creeping in.

If you're like me, your life is probably constantly lacking some raw punk something fierce. It's a constant struggle to find more and more kick-ass bands that very few people know about, and it really does take a toll on your psyche (and bandwith limit). THANKFULLy Perfume River are here to fill that void (temporarily). Killer, war themed d-beat delivered in glooorious lo-fi with reverb up the whazoo and plenty of gruff vocals to keep everything moving along. If you're angry at something and want a soundtrack for your inevitable wall punching session - I present you with this.

Nyodene D is a one man noise project unleashing some of the scariest industrial/power electronics since Ramleh and Whitehouse roamed the earth. Conjuring up the bleakest, most apocalyptic imagery possible, Edenfall is a veritable ode to misanthropy presented with harsh drones, found sound recordings and drowned out vocals. At times Edenfall delves into synth driven territories, but for the most part it's dominated by harsh metallic soundscapes and an eye for dark (very loud) ambience. Bolstered by some solid guest vocals and contributions as well as an intelligent take on the power electronics genre, Edenfall is solid proof that Nyodene D are a force to be reckoned with.

Cyrus Gold are a four piece Pennsylvanian band kicking out some really innovative post hardcore jams. Equal parts catchy, dissonant and melodic the band is lead by versatile vocals and riffs that tow the line between early 90s math rock/emo and ballsy rock and roll. Cyrus Gold know exactly how to balance intelligent music with party ethos, and this demo is testament to some nifty songwriting abilities. These guys are definitely a band to keep your eye on, their unique and progressive take on multiple genres is refreshing indeed.

So last year a bunch of Brisbanites calling themselves Siberian Hell Sounds went and gone done put out a killer demo (which made it's way onto this very blog). Back again very early into 2014 with a new EP, the three piece are bringing the doom and gloom in a very gnarly way. I caught up with (emailed) their guitarist, Dan.

FBN: Describe your band in three words or less

Siberian Hell Sounds: Seances at 420

FBN: You've just released a new EP, can you tell us a little about that

SHS: The name and song titles all started as a joke about Insect Warfare. Many beugs were smoked, doobs toked and Nandos meals consumed in the making of said EP and we reckon it sounds pretty good although it won't ever be as good as Insect.

FBN:As a relatively new band, how are you guys finding the local scene? Is it supportive?

SHS: We've played one show thus far and it was a veritable Matefest. All the overseas attention is very cool, this kind of music has a very limited but attentive audience and it's fucking awesome to have to send merch via international post.

FBN: You're named after the (in)famous Well To Hell hoax. What drew you to that name?

SHS:I'm terrible at thinking of band names so luckily I read the right article on Cracked and had a bloody excellent grind name handed to me.

FBN:What personally drew you to the world of metal/hardcore

SHS:I think the first "heavy band" I ever liked was Metallica or Tool and things progressed steadily downhill from there. I liked all the guitar riffs and lyrical content; I have a natural attraction to dark shit so metal was the best thing ever when I was 12 (disclaimer: it still is the best thing ever). Hardcore was like metal but with less guitar solos, shorter songs and similarly tasty riffage and I loved how it made me want to punch people in the face.

FBN: What are some of the most influential albums (of any genre) to you?\

SHS: Here's 5 bloody classic releases that Siberian Hell Sounds wouldn't exist without (if you don't have these you have a lot of things to reconsider about your life):

Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Cursed - II

Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer

Amenra - Mass IIII

Converge - No Heroes

FBN: What does the future look like for SHS? New releases, tours?

SHS: Well I'm overseas for the next couple months but when I get back to Brisbane there will be plenty of new releases and as many tours as possible and we will get our backlog of merch orders sent out (sorry everyone and thank you for your patience). Hopefully 2014 will suck us off enthusiastically and with no teeth.

Monday, 13 January 2014

(RE-POST)Genre/s: Hardcore, D-Beat, ThrashFor Fans Of: Dishammer, G.I.S.M, Discharge, Motorhead
Keeping with the theme of great bands releasing only tiny amounts of music, I present you with A.T. Det.
I can't say I know much about these guys, other than that this EP is four songs of fuzzy Japanese fury. This is metal punk bliss.
A.T Det blur the line between d-beat, thrash, hardcore and speed metal and it's great, though unfortunately this is the only thing they ever put out.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Wheeze
2. Death Shadows
3. Louse Brothers
4. Last Child Has No Power

Saturday, 11 January 2014

Two piece band Frame 313 hail from Sydney, Australia and play a caustic brand of bass driven powerviolence. Fully embracing the fast/slow dynamic, the duo churn out some raw, fuzzed out tunes over the course of the 6 tracks on this EP. Both members of the band contribute vocals, delivering the classic 'angry man' style (a la Lack Of Interest, Spazz or Infest) as well as a more hardcore oriented bark. Frame 313 have this EP (as well as the original version), and quite a few other releases up for grabs on their bandcamp, so if you're down for some fuzzed out, primal as fuck peevee - you know where to look.

Obscene Being are a four piece from Vancouver who play what can be essentially described as 'snot punk'. Recalling the days of old, when punk songs were three powerchords and and angry bloke yelling over the top of it, Obscene Being's demo is fast, loud, angry and very fun. Vocally it's like a sparring match between Glenn Danzig and Jay Reatard - crooning gives way to demonic howls and screams with snotty refrain, while the scuzzy guitar and fuzzed out bass try to keep up with the whole shebang. It's a crazy little demo, presented in glorious lo-fi, garage rock fidelity and you'd do very well to go give it a listen.

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

Unfortunately this one flew right under the radar for me in 2013, so here I am picking it up, fashionably late as always, in 2014. Zyanose are a bunch of punks from Tokyo playing some extremely gnarly, raw hardcore in the vein of some of the great noisy Japanese D-Beat bands (such as Confuse, Disclose, Lip Cream, Gauze etc). This is their second LP, and boy have they upped the ante - it's a noisey clusterfuck (and I mean that in the best way possible). The two bass guitars have been distorted to within an inch of their life, the vocals are absolutely brutal (piercing screams and crusty growls) and the drums hammer away in the background. This is the most brutal punk record you will hear (this side of a D-Clone release), so go get it and do some damage to your ears.

Koufar (aka Waddiah Rabiah Chami) is something of an anomaly in the power electronics scene. Rather than toting the usual themes (sex, serial killers, racism, misogyny etc), Koufar focuses on the current political climate in Lebanon, from a Mlitant Right-Wing Maronite perspective - a unique take on the genre that still keeps the extreme ethos. Musically (I use that term subjectively) Koufar delves samples from news programs and Arabic chants, crunchy low end rumbles and piercing blasts of feedback, with minimal effects or processing. The vocals are high in the mix, allowing you to take in most of the lyrical content and adding yet another layer to the already abrasive mix. 'The Purity Of The Cedars' is a deeply personal album given Chami's cultural background, as well as his personal experience with the violence in Lebanon, and in a genre that's full of artists trying to outdo each other in terms of extreme content, it's refreshing to see a genuinely sincere release.

No Less hail from a simpler time - a time when powerviolence wasn't the cut/copy, super serious bullshit it is today. Much like Crom or Agents Of Satan, No Less deliver super goofy, ultra fast and mean pv/grindcore gold, with plenty of samples and crushing blastbeats. Vocally this is one the strangest releases you're likely to come across, with guttural lows, hardcore barks and this high pitched, Birdo-esque scream. All in all, it's raw, it's weird and it's heavy as fuck, and it's an excellent release from powerviolence's heyday.

Vagrants are a hardcore unit straight outta Galway, Ireland who are playing some super mean, 80s styled jams. There's a definite metal influence, with the guitar solos and some of the heavier, thrashy parts but this is a hardcore album through in through. You can download the Semi Frontal and Whiteroom EPs together for free at the band's bandcamp, so if you're up for some tough as nails, negative as fuck hardcore you know where to look.

Flagpolers are a rowdy bunch of Irish Canucks from Vancouver who play a catchy brand of working class oriented punk. Gruff vocals and energetic drumming meet hooks and melodies to form a sound that spans hardcore, pop punk, oi and post hardcore. If you're looking to ditch the agression for a bit, and have a bit of fun, Flagpolers will be your best bet. Have a look-sy at their bandcamp, where their demo is up as a pay-what-you-want download.

Friday, 3 January 2014

Bird Blobs were a garage rock band from Melboure, Australia who were active between 2000 - 2005. Throughout their career they released three LPs, this being the last. The four piece played a scuzzy, raucous blend of punk, noise rock and rock and roll, taking inspiration from classic American garage rock bands and the post-punk scene in 1980s Australia. You're in for some of the most deranged vocal work since Nick Cave in the Birthday party, some clever, sloppy guitar work and strong, catchy bass lines all with a distinctly Australian sound. Snag it below.

TRACKLISTING:1. Billy2. Head That Talks3. Stealing Again4. If I Could Kill5. Settle Down N Breed6. Nothing At All7. Back On The Beast8. Straight & Narrow9. My Last Gold Dollar10. Drunk At The Mill

A Pregnant Light is something of an anomaly in the world of black metal. The one man band (led by a fellow who goes by the name 'Deathless Maranatha') does not abide by any of the usual genre constraints - the band sports a strong purple aesthetic, there's no strong Anti-Christian agenda and musically it's all over the place. APL's disregard for genre norms means you'll get 90s metalcore riffs, layered with black metal howls drenched in a layer of reverb or lush guitar tremolos a la Deafheaven. If you want an interesting, lo-fi black metal listen, I strongly recommend looking into this.

The Canary Islands may be known primarily as an idyllic holiday destination, but it is also home to Bonestorm - a killer hardcore band. Bonestorm play a very mean strand of hardcore, taking cues from modern powerviolence and blasting eardrums in the process. Angry, throaty vocals, mosh-a-plenty and balls to wall hardcore energy abide. Snag it at the band's bandcamp or at the download link below.TRACKLISTING:1. Intro2. Slammed Head3. Kings of Decadence4. In Ruins5. Jailed6. Dead Men

Romantic Gorilla are a goofy, fun hardcore band from Japan, who've been around since 1993. They often incorporate humorous themes/lyrics in their music - which is a blistering mix of catchy hardcore and straight-up thrashcore. If you love Japanese hardcore (I know I do), you'd be stupid to pass this one up.

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Swine are four lads from Sydney, Australia making an unholy racket - albeit an infectiously catchy one. This is the sort of hardcore you drink copious amounts of beer to while you push sweaty, bearded guys out of the way. Fast, furious riffing that borders on d-beat/crust/speed metal territory, absolutely throat shredding vocals and upbeat drumming to keep it all together. I love a band that can churn out some gnarly tunes, and not take themselves to seriously in the process, and Swine are one of those bands. This is available as a 'pay-what-you-want' download, so go check out their bandcamp.

Holy shit, what a year! All I can say is that there is no way I can possibly pick a 'favourite' release, because there was way too many to choose from - instead I opted for a ten best system for both EPs and LPs. Anyway, here we go!

IDYLLS - Indian Circle
Back with a new vocalist, IDYLLS released this earlier this year - showcasing a decidedly more dissonant and raw side to their mathcore/grind chaos. Best described as the Birthday Party on methamphetamine, this 4 track EP had a killer cover of Lubricated Goat's 'Beyond The Grave'

Bad People - Pearls Before Swine
Bad People are doing modern hardcore right - taking influence from the old, injecting it with the new and putting it through the wringer to add their own unique lean on it. Snotty vocals, power chords and nods to everything from surf rock to psychadelia, not to mention that members of the band are (and were) also in Brown Sugar and White Guilt.

Manhunt - Human Detritus

Powerviolence inspired hardcore from Brisbane, Australia. Absolutely ferocious metallic fury that just sucker punches you right in the face. Mark my words, these guys will be right up there with the likes of Extortion and Suffer.

No Anchor/Dead Split
Two bass heavy (and only) sludge bands delivering the goods. No Anchor's final release before their untimely demise (RIP) is a delightful concoction of alternative and noise rock, coated in a layer of concrete while Dead's contribution is a primal raw chunk of progressive sludge metal.

Suffering Mind/Six Brew Bantha Split

Utterly pummeling grindcore Poland/Canada. These two bands mince it up like there's no tomorrow. Specials props to Six Brew Bantha for one of the best snare tones ever committed to wax.

Dope Body - Saturday
This killer, two song EP unleashes more of Dope Body's off kilter, alt rock tinged noise rock on the world. 'Leatherhead' is a sleazy, slow burner with this year's catchiest bass riff, while 'Youth Relic' catapults you right into the action, with frantic drumming and a bright, energetic guitar riff. It's pretty tame as far as noise rock goes, but it's an absolutely killer EP.

Cold Cave - Nausea, The Earth And Me
Wes has released a slew of EPs and singles this year - God Made The World, Oceans With No End, Black Boots and this three track EP (very recently actually). A decidedly dark affair, there are definite nods to goth, early EBM and of course, dark wave.

Column Of Heaven - Holy Things Are For The Holy
Face it, you've already given up trying to classify Column Of Heaven. The powerviolence? band have more than a few experimental releases under their belts, this being their latest. Industrial meets noise rock meets power electronics meets doom metal dirges and everything in between. It's weird, it's creepy and I love it.

LPs

Dreamdecay - N V N V N V
Iron Lung Record's consistently brilliant output continued in fine form this year (Society Nurse, Column Of Heaven, Hatred Surge etc etc), but I'm gonna have to say that this here was probably my favourite of their's this year. Dreamdecay play a spaced out, trippy amalgamation of noise rock and shoegaze where everything is drenched in a layer of reverb and delay. At times N V N V NV sounds like the album Ennio Morricone would've written if he was tripping on acid and on a serious Sonic Youth fix - quiet, dissonant passages that build up to massive cathartic crescendos that dissolve into full blown noise freak-outs. I am super excited to hear more from these guys.

Iron Lung - White Glove Test
Speaking of Iron Lung Records, guess who else put out a really fucking good album this year? I'd probably say this was my most anticipated album for 2k13, and I was not disappointed. The two man powerviolence powerhouse fully realized their industrial fetish in what was essentially a three in one album. Their claustrophobic, medical themed pv met with an 22 minute long, Eraserhead-esque noise accompaniment, which was not only an amazing stand alone track but a re-interpretation of the album, that could be merged with the existing tracks. That unique concept, coupled with Iron Lung's outside-the-box song writing made 'White Glove Test' a formidable release.

Zeahorse - Pools
INDIE DOOM!

Well, sort of. Sydney band Zeahorse know their way around a heavy song - feedback, drones, riffs et etc but they also know a thing or two about pop sensibility. 'Career' and 'Pools' are two massive songs, tamed only by a soothing, dreamy vocal performance, whereas 'Onion' is a straight -forward garage punk jam and 'Familiar Faeces' or 'Tugboat' have a more subdued indie vibe (and then there's the bluegrass wildcard 'Junktown Train'). All in all, it's a heavy album, with intense sonic vibes, albeit one that knows how to behave itself once in a while.

Pharmakon - Abandon

Margaret Chardiet's solo project, Pharmakon, is a force to be reckoned with. The NYC native unleashes some cold, calculated industrial noise, led by her demonic screeches and almost obsessive attention to detail. Unlike the the greater portion of the noise scene, Pharmakon forgoes improvisation in favour of impeccably composed tracks. Every synth pulse, clatter, screech and percussive blast is exactly where Chardiet wants it to be - and that is why this album stands out from the rest of 2013's noise catalogue.

Pissed Jeans - Honeys

The Pennsylvanian noise-mongers that are Pissed Jeans are at it again with album number four. Abrasive, scuzzy and deadpan as ever, Honeys not only covered the usual noise rock/punk/hardcore bases but touched on 90s alternative rock, grunge, harsh noise and drone/doom (check out Chain Worker). Not only this, but it gave us 'Bathroom Laughter' and absolute rager of a track that was probably my favourite song of 2013.

Deafheaven - Sunbather

Okay, I lied. Sunbather's opening track 'Dream House' was my number one pick for top song of 2013. It was utterly perfect - the grandiose guitar work, the ferocity of the vocals, the beautiful lyrics and the amazing drumming. All of these qualities carried on through the album, gracing many ears last year with the post-rock/shoegaze/black metal sounds that make up Deafheaven. There's a reason this appeared on so many end of year lists, there's a reason why so many people went apeshit over this album - and it had nothing to do with it being over-hyped. It's just really fucking good.

Broken Prayer - Self Titled
Rather than pilfering from the Boston/New York cica 80s hardcore scene (something most HxC bands do nowadays), Broken Prayer looked to the fucked up sounds of SST, No Trend and Die Kreuzen and added their own ecclectic flair and then out popped this album. Off-kilter would be a place to start when describing this album, but it really doesn't do it justice. Bratty vocals, synth, whacky riffs and a general disregard for the punk rulebook made this a favourite. It's a refreshing take on hardcore, and I really hope to hear more from these Chicagoan rapscallions in the near future.

Prurient - Through The Window
Building on 2010's amazing 'Bermuda Drain' and Fernow's other synth/electronic projects (namely Vatican Shadow), Through The Window is a love letter to European Techo, coated with Prurient's darker than black allure. Pounding bass and repetive synth lines dominate the title track (it takes up a fair portion of this release at 17 minutes), 'Terracotta Spine' is reminiscent of the 'Cocaine Death' era and 'You Show Great Spirit' sees a return to minimalist electronica. Through The Window demonstrates masterful use of ambiance and atmosphere, lending this release a cold, clinical vibe that may be considered 'harsh' in its own way.

Full Of Hell - Rudiments Of Mutilation
Hardcore's scariest band have managed to get scarier, somehow. Embracing their noisier, more chaotic side (a la Discordance Axis), Full Of Hell dropped 10 tracks of pure fucking rage on this LP. Rudiments revisited old favourites (Vessel Deserted), explored experimental territory (Dichotomy) and went full bore on pretty much everything else (Coven Of The Larynx being a stand out). It's been cool seeing the band evolve, and if this LP is anything to go off, we'll be seeing a much more darker and meaner Full Of Hell in the future.

Kayo Dot - Hubardo

Toby Driver and his merry band of misfits are at it again. Hubardo saw the return of former Maudlin Of The Well vocalist Jason Byron, as well as a more concentrated, composed direction. Kayo Dot's wonderful fusion of metal, post rock, jazz, 70s rock and everything in between is still there, as melodramatic and grandiose before, but unlike their previous few releases, it's more structured and less cacophonic. It was a good year for metal in 2013, but Kayo's avant-garde powerhouse come out tops for me.

So as the title suggests - it's the new year - which means it is time for me to quit being a lazy fuck and once again return to the blog game.

I've got a few neat little things in store - heaps of cool music (old and new) plus a tonne of submissions from awesome bands. It should be a fun year.

As always, feel free to contact me via email (lucifycrucifer@gmail.com) and send me requests, submissions, complaints and/or nudes. I'm also considering getting some more peeps involved with FBN, so if you have a horrendous taste in music (like me) drop me a line!